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The case for business leadership What you can do today
‘
Waiting for governments to
The ‘turbulent teens’ will affect all busi- Here’s what that can mean in practice:
regulate or for changes in
nesses. Services we currently get from the 1. Act now to achieve the best future
customer demand risks
natural world that are cheap today – such Look for commercial opportunities that
as soil quality or flood prevention – will generate immediate returns and are the
acting too late. This is the be expensive. The rules of the game will first steps to a sustainable future.
’
case for business leadership
change: customers will expect businesses Examples include, GE’s Ecomagination
to be part of the solution; regulators and and Marks & Spencer’s Plan A. And
governments will incentivise and punish; create alliances to identify and manage
and investors will want to know how their risks, with investors, customers, staff,
assets are protected. competitors and regulators. For exam-
Companies need to change their risk ple, the Forest Stewardship Council
management and more. In an intercon- came from an alliance of NGOs and
nected world, it is sometimes hard to see companies wanting to protect forests.
who should act first. Waiting for govern- 2. Prepare for radical change
ments to regulate or for changes in cus- Explore different plausible futures to
tomer demand risks acting too late and identify a wider range of risks and
greater costs. The longer we wait, the opportunities. Take a broad definition
greater the damage will be and the more of the challenges, and avoid reducing
we will have to do once we start. This, sustainability simply to climate change.
then, is the case for business leadership. Embedding sustainability in key
There is another angle, looking at how decision-making and operational
much businesses like to operate without delivery. For example, Balfour Beatty
government interventions. The financial are using their understanding of sustain-
crisis compelled governments to break ability in key decisions like business
with economic orthodoxy and serious- development and training people on
ly intervene in markets. what sustainability means in their oper-
How much will governments ational roles.
have to do if we delay action on
climate change by another five For more, download Acting Now for
years? If you believe in free-mar- Positive 2018: Preparing for Radical
kets then you should be lobbying Change, a report sponsored by
for market solutions now, rather Capgemini, and available from
than risk big government interven- www.forumforthefuture.org/projects/
tions later. acting-now-for-a-positive-2018
If companies are in the business
of long-term value creation, then For more on PepsiCo’s risk management
they need to do more than satisfy visit www.forumforthefuture.org/
shareholders’ desires for returns in projects/pepsico-global-scenarios-
the short term. and-strategy-2030
They also need to create the
foundations for future successes. It David Bent is head of business strategies
means acting now for the at sustainable development charity
best future, and preparing for Forum for the Future
radical change. > www.forumforthefuture.org.uk
SB FutureProof ❘ April 2010 5
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